Have You Visited An Orphanage?

My wife and I are babysitting our grandson, Oliver while his mother (my daughter) is running our family bridal business and his father works as a nurse at St. Mary’s hospital. Oliver is an extremely lucky boy. He is covered with love and he is well taken care of: After the positive pregnancy test, his mother had been following doctor’s advice for the nutrition program; she attended the mother-to-be training sessions and strictly applied the guidance that she was given. As a result, Oliver was born with perfect health and was well greeted by my entire family (uncles and aunt). He was fed with his mother’s milk for the whole first year that was gradually replaced by organic formula and baby food. He is now 28 months and is a very intelligent boy. He is speaking both English and Vietnamese and is ready for pre-school which will take place when he turns 30 months old.

Many times when I’m watching Oliver growing up with complete provisions from his and my family, I cannot avoid comparing the love and care he is provided with that of my experiences during my infancy and toddler years. I was born and grew up without knowing my father. I survived only by the intervention of my grandmother and by the milk of many other women who were unrelated and unknown to me. A few years after my birth, as a toddler, I was put in numerous orphanages.
Orphanages are rarely used in the United States, although they are more frequently used abroad. These are the institutions that house children who are orphaned, abandoned, or whose parents are unable to care for them. You may have seen pictures or read stories about orphanages in Vietnam in recent years or during the American involvement in that war. These images and stories can only represent part of what I’d gone through during my four years of toddlerhood. There was only one orphanage serving the entire North of Vietnam. This orphanage was founded by a French priest and run by Catholic nuns. There were always more than 200 orphans at a time and they were divided into different groups according to age. Except for few who were referred by other authorities from rural areas, most of the orphans were from the suburbs of Hanoi (Uguak, 2010). When being accepted into the institution, orphans were provided with food which was donated by rich people, either from the colony or from the mother country: France. Younger orphans started their pre-school while older were placed in the technical training. A vast majority of these technically trained orphans became successful and useful for the later independence of Vietnam (Uguak, 2010). Social activities such as sports, tours to visit various interesting spots around Hanoi were provided. In general, orphans were well taken care physically and socially. Emotionally and passionately, nevertheless, orphans were always in profound need of love. Psychologically the war between the Vietnamese nationalists and the colonists and the second world war have been identified as a major cause in casualties that has led to massive displacement of children. The scale of this displacement has been compounded by famine and widespread food shortages (Uguak, 2010).
Occasionally, my mother paid a visit and that was my happiest time; or sometimes there were visitors or groups of visitors that stirred up the spirit of the orphans.

Though the nuns devoted their services to take care of orphans, often they ran out of patience and applied unreasonable physical punishments to children. My case was a great example: one winter night I accidentally wet my bed; the next morning a nun dunked me in the cold pond in the back yard. Luckily my brain wasn’t damaged. I spent four years in the orphanages and at the age of eight, I returned to my mother’s house.
The desire for love is always deep and permanent in the children of the orphanage. My personal experience during the time I spent in the orphanage can be described by the expression in the children’s eyes on the second image: they are hungry and hoped for visitors. I urge you, when possible, pay a visit to an orphanage. You will realize how lucky you are! You will be happy that you can share your love to those who are in profound need: the orphans.

Citation:
Adoption glossary. (n.d.) Adoption.com. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://glossary.adoption.com.

Uguak, U. (2010). The importance of psychological needs for the post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and displaced children in schools. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 37(4), 340. . Retrieved April twenty fourth, 2011 from Academic Search Complete Database.